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Inside the flower there are 4 stamens, with one pair longer than the other. Some Mint flowers are much more irregular than others, but if you study them closely you will see that they typically have 2 petal lobes up and 3 petal lobes down. The 5 petals are also fused together, but note how asymmetrical or "irregular" the flowers are, compared to the more symmetrical or "regular" Mustard flowers. Notice in the illustration that there are 5 sepals, all fused together so that only the tips are separate. Those plants are found in the Loosestrife, Verbena and Stinging Nettle families, but none of them smell minty.Īs you become proficient at identifying members of the Mint family by their square stalks, opposite leaves, and spicy aroma, you should also familiarize yourself with the flowers. Note that there are a handful of other plants with square stems and opposite leaves, which may be confused with the Mints.
POINT LEAFS SOFT THORNS IDENIFYCATION PATCH
Some species like the Coleus, a house plant with red and green leaves, have no aroma at all, while a patch of the more potent Agastache may bring tears to your eyes just passing through. You can safely sample any member of the Mint family.
Eating a few Mint leaves after drinking from a creek certainly won't kill everything in the water, but it sure helps. On camping trips I often use aromatic Mints to help purify questionable water. Volatile oils are also highly lethal to microorganisms. Using a diaphoretic herb can help raise a mild fever just high enough to "cook" a virus, thus "breaking" or ending the fever. A fever is the body's way of "cooking" the microorganisms that cause infections. This property can help you break a fever. These spicy oils are stimulating and warming, causing the body to open up and sweat so most of these plants are listed as diaphoretic in herbal books. Medicinally this family is rich in volatile oils, especially menthol, often used as the penetrating vapors in cough drops. Approximately 50 genera are found in North America. Worldwide there are about 180 genera in the Mint Family representing some 3500 species.
POINT LEAFS SOFT THORNS IDENIFYCATION PLUS
The rich, spicy quality of these plants makes them useful in cooking, and nearly half the spices in your kitchen come from this one family, including basil, rosemary, lavender, marjoram, germander, thyme, savory, horehound, plus culinary sage (but not sagebrush!), and of course mint, peppermint, and spearmint.įor the beginning botanist, that is all you really need to remember: "square stalks with opposite leaves, and usually aromatic". Be sure to smell it too, since many species of the family are loaded with aromatic volatile oils. If you pick a plant with a distinctly square stalk and simple, opposite leaves, then it is very likely a member of the Mint family. Home | Plant Identification | Plant Families Gallery | Edible Plants | Mushrooms | Linksĭesertification & Weed Ecology | Weed Profiles | E-Mail | Search this Site Plant Identification, Edible Plants, Weed Ecology, Mushrooms, and more.